Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0017536 (giardiasis)
 1,714 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This review describes the application of SEM to the study of microorganisms in gastrointestinal (GI) pathobiology. SEM has proven to be a highly useful tool with a variety of applications in the biological and medical sciences. Examples in this paper are focused on the use of secondary electron imaging to study selected bacterial (cholera), fungal (candidosis), and protozoan (giardiasis) diseases in the GI tract of murine (mouse and rat) experimental models. The successful application of SEM to studies of microorganisms in GI pathobiology requires strict attention to optimal preparative techniques, to selection of the appropriate method and microenvironment(s) for study, and to awareness of the indigenous microorganisms characteristic of the system studied.
 ...
PMID:Application of scanning electron microscopy to the study of microorganisms in gastrointestinal pathobiology. 635 31

Empirical antimicrobial therapy is indicated in patients with diarrhoea who have high fever and systemic toxicity, dysenteric disease, or travellers' diarrhoea. Antimicrobials are essential for those with severe shigellosis and amoebiasis. They are useful or possibly useful for other forms of diarrhoeal disease including amoebiasis (milder forms), campylobacteriosis, cholera, giardiasis, shigellosis, and diarrhoea due to a variety of other laboratory-defined bacterial enteropathogens. Furazolidone is useful in infantile giardiasis and mildly effective in other forms of bacterial diarrhoea. Trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole is effective against Shigella spp. in ost parts of the world. Erythromycin is considered the treatment of choice for campylobacteriosis. For adults, the quinolone antimicrobials represent the most useful class of drugs for bacterial enteropathogens. Several dilemmas currently exist in the area. They include the lack of drugs for the therapy of trimethoprim-resistant shigellosis in children, overuse of antimicrobials in the developing world, and the potential for post-treatment prolongation of intestinal excretion of non-typhoid salmonellae. Antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis can be used in the rare person from an industrialized area during brief travels to a tropical region who has a serious underlying medical problem, cannot exercise care in what is eaten and drunk, and will have the purpose of the trip put at jeopardy should any illness develop (even that rendered short-term by effective therapy). For most people, therapy of illness is preferred to prophylaxis.
 ...
PMID:Diarrhoeal disease: current concepts and future challenges. Antimicrobial therapy and prophylaxis. 810 47

Acute diarrhoeal diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in children. Acute diarrhoea may be watery, where features of dehydration are more prominent or dysenteric, where the stools contain blood and mucous. Rehydration therapy is the key to the management of acute watery diarrhoea, whereas antibiotics play a vital role in the management of acute invasive diarrhoea, particularly shigellosis. Rehydration may be done either by the oral or intravenous routes depending upon the degree of dehydration. Oral rehydration salt solution of WHO formula is recommended for oral rehydration therapy (ORT). Ringer's lactate is the ideal intravenous fluid for correction of severe dehydration due to diarrhoea. Antibiotic therapy is beneficial for cholera and shigellosis only. Antiparasitic agents are indicated only if amoebiasis or giardiasis is present. Antidiarrhoeals are of no benefit for the treatment of acute diarrhoea. Appropriate feeding during diarrhoea is recommended with beneficial outcome.
 ...
PMID:Management of acute diarrhoea. 878 11

In the year 2100 a global mean temperature increase of 2 degrees C, and a 50 cm rise in sea level are expected. An escalation in the intensity and duration of heat waves will increase mortality, whilst higher temperatures in cold regions may reduce it. On a global scale, vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever and some types of viral encephalitis are likely to increase. 50 to 80 million more cases of malaria could occur annually. Elevated temperatures and more frequent floods could cause an increase in salmonellosis, cholera and giardiasis. Indirectly, shortages of freshwater and foods may cause serious health problems. The world may see more environmental refugees. For Norway a temperature increase of 3-4 degrees C during winter and 2 degrees C in summer is expected, with more precipitation, especially in western parts. The possibility of the Gulf Stream turning at 40 degrees N and causing a temperature decrease of 10 degrees C, is not very likely. Malaria could reestablish itself in Europe, but hardly in Norway. The most harmful arthropod vector in Norway, the tick Ixodes ricinus, might extend its range into the most populated parts of the country. Marine algal blooms might increase the risk of cholera. Health problems caused by greater floods, poisonous algae and certain freshwater cercaria might increase.
 ...
PMID:[Health effects of climatic changes--possible consequences for Norway]. 906 11

Traveling to underdeveloped countries requires several important preventive measures, such as vaccination and bringing electric water boiling apparatus. After arriving in the underdeveloped country, travelers must avoid unheated water, ice, beverages containing ice, raw vegetables, fruits cut by local people. However, many Japanese travelers do not pay attention to these points, resulting in increasing numbers of cases of tropical diseases such as cholera, dysentery, giardiasis, among orally contracted intestinal diseases. We must learn from Americans and British who are very cautious in traveling to these areas. In addition to educating travelers about preventive measures, doctors who will see patients returning from traveling in underdeveloped countries must be able to recognize and treat tropical diseases. Unfortunately, this is often not the case in Japan, causing delays in diagnosis and treatment. It is imperative to diagnose communicable diseases as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary secondary infections. Thus, for a traveler accumulating knowledge on the current hygienic conditions in the tropical country must also be one of the necessary preparations.
 ...
PMID:[Prophylaxis of infectious intestinal diseases before leaving for underdeveloped countries]. 917 Sep 68

We review the pathophysiology of intestinal water and electrolyte transport leading to diarrhoea, the currently available pharmacological strategies for its treatment, and the economic implications of such treatments. Diarrhoea occurs most frequently and is associated with highest mortality in children under 5. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is the cornerstone of its management. The safety and efficacy of ORT in the prevention of death from dehydration, both in field and also in hospital settings, are now well established. Because it is also inexpensive, ORT is widely applicable worldwide. More recently, rice-based ORT has emerged, based on well known traditional remedies for diarrhoea in southeast Asia and the Far East. Rice-based ORT has the advantage of being more culturally acceptable, readily available even in rural homes in developing countries, and is more effective in reducing stool output and the duration of diarrhoea, compared with conventional glucose-electrolyte solutions such as World Health Organization ORT. For infants, the well known antidiarrhoeal properties of human milk needs emphasis for a variety of reasons including economic ones. Data concerning the economic benefits to a nations' health budget as a result of nationwide implementation of oral rehydration solution (ORS) use are limited. Available data from individual centres in developing countries, if projected to national level, would incur considerable economic advantage. Except for a few notable infections such as shigellosis, cholera, amoebiasis and giardiasis, the widespread use of antibiotics in acute diarrhoea, still a common practice in many developing countries, has no proven value and may be detrimental. The economic implications of antibiotic abuse in the treatment of diarrhoea in developing countries is enormous. Despite the availability of a wide spectrum of pharmacological agents for diarrhoea reviewed in this article, only a few such agents are of proven clinical efficacy: corticosteroids, aminosalicylates and immunosuppressants in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and opioid derivatives such as loperamide which may be useful in protracted diarrhoea in children and in disorders where rapid gastrointestinal transit is the main cause of diarrhoea. Opioids are not recommended for acute infective diarrhoea in childhood. Octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, is reported to be useful in the treatment of secretory diarrhoea due to noninfective causes and in the treatment of intractable diarrhoea associated with AIDS. Its high cost and need for parenteral administration prevent its wider application.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Pharmacoeconomics of the therapy of diarrhoeal disease. 1015 Jan 56

Diarrheal diseases remain an important cause of childhood morbidity and death in developing countries, although diarrheal deaths have significantly declined in recent years, mostly due to successes in the implementation of oral rehydration therapy (ORT), which is the principal treatment modality. Diarrhea may occur for varied reasons; however, most episodes of diarrhea in developing countries are infectious in origin. Three clinical forms of diarrhea (acute watery diarrhea, invasive diarrhea, and persistent diarrhea) have been identified to formulate a management plan. Acute diarrhea may be watery (where features of dehydration are prominent) or dysenteric (where stools contain blood and mucus). Rehydration therapy is the key to management of acute watery diarrhea, whereas antimicrobial agents play a vital role in the management of acute invasive diarrhea, particularly shigellosis and amebiasis. In persistent diarrhea, nutritional therapy, including dietary manipulations, is a very important aspect in its management, in addition to rehydration therapy. Rehydration may be carried out either by the oral or intravenous route, depending upon the degree of dehydration. Oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution (World Health Organization formula) is recommended for ORT. Intravenous fluid is recommended for initial management of severe dehydration due to diarrhea, followed by ORT with ORS solution for correction of ongoing fluid losses. Antimicrobial therapy is beneficial for cholera and shigellosis. Antiparasitic agents are indicated only if amebiasis and giardiasis are present. Appropriate feeding during diarrhea is recommended for nutritional recovery and to prevent bodyweight loss. Antidiarrheal agents do not provide additional benefit in the management of infectious diarrhea. Although some probiotics have been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of acute diarrhea due to rotavirus, their use in the treatment of diarrhea is yet to be recommended, even in developed countries. The children of developing countries might benefit from zinc supplementation during the diarrheal illness, but its mode of delivery and cost effectiveness are yet to be decided.
 ...
PMID:Treatment of infectious diarrhea in children. 1260 80

All vertebrates produce gastric acid. Its main function is inactivation of ingested microorganisms. The majority of microbiological pathogens ingested never reaches the intestine because of the gastric barrier. Although gastric hypochlorhydria is fairly common due to atrophic gastritis, gastric surgery or use of inhibitors of gastric acid secretion, the resulting susceptibility to infection has not been studied extensively. Drug-induced blockade of acid secretion leads to gastrointestinal bacterial overgrowth; the clinical significance of this is still controversial. Gastric acidity is known to protect against non-typhoid salmonellosis and cholera and it is suspected that it protects against several parasitic diseases as giardiasis and strongyloides. There is a lack of studies focusing on the impact of the gastric acidic barrier on viral infections. Concerning prion infections only a single study has been performed, demonstrating a possible role of gastric acidity in the protection against foodborne prion disease in mice. The combination of malnutrition and hypochlorhydria may contribute to the high prevalence of gastrointestinal infections in developing countries. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical consequences of impaired gastric acidity with respect to susceptibility to infections.
 ...
PMID:Gastric juice: a barrier against infectious diseases. 1567 70

In the less developed nations, hygiene and sanitation remain overriding factors in population health and the burden of waterborne disease. Both morbidity and mortality from diseases, such as cholera, remain high, but the overwhelming burden of diarrhoeal diseases inevitably goes undiagnosed. Enterotoxic E. coli, shigellosis and campylobacteriosis are prevalent amongst bacterial diseases and giardiasis is often diagnosed among protozoan diseases. In terms of viral diseases, hepatitis A is frequently associated with water and rotavirus, and more recently norovirus, infections are suspected to be major causes of gastroenteritis, although they are seldom diagnosed. From the perspective of research and training, and despite the efforts of major international organizations, effective programs that teach basic hygiene and sanitation remain elusive.
 ...
PMID:Emerging issues in water and health research. 1649

The polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR) is conserved in mammals and has an avian homologue, suggesting evolutionarily important functions in vertebrates. It transports multimeric IgA and IgM across polarized epithelia and is highly expressed in the intestine, yet little direct evidence exists for its importance in defense against common enteric pathogens. In this study, we demonstrate that pIgR can play a critical role in intestinal defense against the lumen-dwelling protozoan parasite Giardia, a leading cause of diarrheal disease. The receptor was essential for the eradication of Giardia when high luminal IgA levels were required. Clearance of Giardia muris, in which IgA plays a dominant role, was severely compromised in pIgR-deficient mice despite significant fecal IgA output at 10% of normal levels. In contrast, eradication of the human strain Giardia lamblia GS/M, for which adaptive immunity is less IgA dependent in mice, was unaffected by pIgR deficiency, indicating that pIgR had no physiologic role when lower luminal IgA levels were sufficient for parasite elimination. Immune IgA was greatly increased in the serum of pIgR-deficient mice, conferred passive protection against Giardia, and recognized several conserved giardial Ags, including ornithine carbamoyltransferase, arginine deiminase, alpha-enolase, and alpha- and beta-giardins, that are also detected in human giardiasis. Corroborative observations were made in mice lacking the J chain, which is required for pIgR-dependent transepithelial IgA transport. These results, together with prior data on pIgR-mediated immune neutralization of luminal cholera toxin, suggest that pIgR is essential in intestinal defense against pathogenic microbes with high-level and persistent luminal presence.
 ...
PMID:Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor in intestinal immune defense against the lumen-dwelling protozoan parasite Giardia. 1705 58


<< Previous 1 2 3 Next >>